Seed removal rates of <i>P. armandii</i> and <i>Q. aliena</i> var. <i>acuteserrata</i> after deposition in the seed stations in the three experimental plots.

<p>WQ: study area located in the western Qinling Mountains; MQ: study area located in the middle Qinling Mountains; EQ: study area located in the eastern Qinling Mountains. Data are expressed as mean ± SE.</p

Characteristics of the three experimental plots.

<p>WQ: study area located in the western Qinling Mountains; MQ: study area located in the middle Qinling Mountains; EQ: study area located in the eastern Qinling Mountains.</p

Fates of <i>P. armandii</i> seeds and <i>Q. aliena</i> var. <i>acuteserrata</i> acorns after dispersal by small rodents in the three experimental plots.

<p>WQ: study area located in the western Qinling Mountains; MQ: study area located in the middle Qinling Mountains; EQ: study area located in the eastern Qinling Mountains. IS: in situ; EIS: eaten in situ; IAR: intact after removal; EAR: eaten after removal; CAR: cached after removal; M: missing. Data are expressed as mean ± SE. **: statistically significant difference between the tree species (<i>P</i><0.01).</p

Number of small rodents captured (<i>n</i> = 150 trap days and nights) in the three experimental plots.

<p>WQ: study area located in the western Qinling Mountains; MQ: study area located in the middle Qinling Mountains; EQ: study area located in the eastern Qinling Mountains.</p

Sketch map of the locations of seed stations in the experimental plots.

<p>Sketch map of the locations of seed stations in the experimental plots.</p

Distance distributions of <i>P. armandii</i> seeds and <i>Q. aliena</i> var. <i>acuteserrata</i> acorns in the three experimental plots.

<p>WQ: study area located in the western Qinling Mountains; MQ: study area located in the middle Qinling Mountains; EQ: study area located in the eastern Qinling Mountains.</p